The Myth Of The TED Talk

Full disclosure: I have TED Talk FOMO. I've never given one. I got turned down for the TEDx event I recently pitched. It's a goal of mine, so I wanted to know: Is it really worth it?

For experts and innovators, the TED Talk is the holy grail of achievement. Give one, the thinking goes, and you go from expert to thought leader. You can quit your day job, secure in the knowledge that your millions of views will translate into profit and power.

For some, of course, that’s been true. Professor Brene Brown’s “The Power of Vulnerability,” which has been viewed over 32 million times, elevated her into a global superstar. Novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “We Should All Be Feminists” became a worldwide bestseller that was given to every 16-year-old in Sweden.

There’s only one TED conference, and it’s an incredibly selective and pricey ticket. You must be invited to attend, and I certainly never have been! But in recent years, 50,000 TEDx talks have originated worldwide. These independently organized TED events are run by local volunteers and accept applications for speakers from anyone who is willing to put in the time. It’s a highly selective process which now functions as a farm team of sorts for the main TED brand: either an invitation to the original TED Conference in Vancouver or-- even better-- an opportunity to have a video of your TEDx talk featured on TED.com. According to TED.com there have been over 1 billion views of TEDx talks.

For many would-be change-makers, pursuing TED status is a massive investment of time and money for an uncertain goal. Most speakers train for the talk as if for a marathon, and most pay consultants or dramaturgists thousands for coaching and speechwriting. Is it worth shooting for? What’s the right reason to carve out the resources? And, if you decide to go for it, how can you craft your idea for maximum success?

Tamsen Webster, the director of TEDx Cambridge, says the first step is to understand the math is against you. “The TEDx’s are the engine of content for TED,” she said, but with roughly 25,000 TEDx videos competing for 40 or 50 slots, the odds of making it to TED.com are about 1 in 18,000--only slightly better than odds of becoming a pro athlete.

"The goal of doing it for business success is very unlikely,” she said. “So are you willing to do it just for the idea itself?"

Tricia Brouk, creative director of TEDxLincolnSquare and host of The Big Talk podcast, emphasizes that a successful big talk is an organic process, not a marketing opportunity. “The stage is meant to inspire and get the audience to adopt your idea, not buy your book,” she says. “I want to know why your idea is worth spreading!”

Training for a TEDx talk can be an end in itself. “The length forces you into a clarity and structure you don’t need when you've got 45 minutes in front of people,” Webster say. “Do it because you want to work on your craft as a speaker, or refine your idea.”

June Cohen, a former executive producer and founding employee of TED Media, says that craft is central to why TED has become such a cultural touchstone. “There is a magic that goes beyond the content,” she says. “When you stand up in front of a group to tell them what you believe, you can move people in a way that's not possible through other methods.

“It’s not a format that TED invented,” Cohen explains. “It’s a million-year-old format that TED has, among others, helped bring into the modern world.”

That’s why, she believes, most of the greatest TED talks are from teachers. “They are people who have been building and testing their storytelling skills in front of small audiences for years and years,” she says, advising prospective TED speakers to take “every opportunity to talk in front of small audiences, from a team meeting to a bookstore to a classroom.”

Brouk advises aligning yourself with a particular event or series. “Get to know the kind of speakers they choose and then determine if you are the right speaker for that event,” she says. “There's nothing more exciting than when a speaker approaches me and says, ‘I believe in your message and I want to be on your stage.’”

And, if you are lucky enough to get on stage, should you hire a speech coach or consultant? “I'm a big believer in having someone help you on your talk, “ Cohen says. “It's a bit like how every writer needs an editor.” Those advisors can be professional coaches, or they can be journalist and actor friends.

First-time speakers shouldn’t panic. Many venues, Webster says, already have coaches to work with their speakers, and seemingly perfect TED videos have been edited post-production. “It’s normal for these speakers to stumble or lose their place,” she says. “It’s less like watching a TED video at home, and more like being the live studio audience of a recording of Seinfeld.”

For those who go with a professional coach, Brouk says her work with clients can be intense. “The writing process can take months,” she says. “This about understanding the intention behind every single word you are saying. I'm interested in helping somebody become the speaker they are meant to be and share their idea because it's the only thing they can do. If it’s about I want to get a million views, I'm not that interested.”

And that elusive idea? Webster advises, “Most people really actually don't know what their idea is. You have to say, I am sure that I've got something here. I'm really passionate on this perspective. I'm not seeing anybody else talk about it this way. I'm willing to put the effort in.”